On the Road Again...

Well, the first leg of our trip was filled with a plethora of emotions. It began a day early, as we attended the service for my beloved grandmother. This was both a beautiful and a solemn occasion. Her death was sudden and my relationship with her was a deep, true friendship that spanned beyond generational gaps. She loved me fiercely and I her. This sadness, unfortunately, will follow me through this adventure- and I’m sure beyond. Nonetheless, our adventure began.

After a few days in the bay area (California) with my family celebrating the life of our matriarch, the Zoo Crew headed out. We had reserved a hotel in Bend, Oregon and so the trip to Seattle was broken up into two days. The place we stayed in Bend (http://www.entradalodge.com) was perfect. It backed up to trail heads and was super pet friendly. After a loooong night of driving from the bay area to Bend (lots of tag teaming and pulling over to rest), we enjoyed the hotel the next morning by taking the dogs and baby for a hike and then on a bike ride. Yes, we put the baby bike trailer in the car and our mountain bikes on the rack. We leisurely checked out of the hotel and then headed to Deschutes Brewery for lunch. Although our visit in Bend was brief it made the list for places to consider moving someday. We definitely plan on taking some vacations there in the future to experience the city more.

(insert picture of monkey with his beer)

We are blessed with a fantastic group of friends and were able to spend our Seattle visit in an adorable guesthouse located on our friend’s property in Lake Sammamish, WA. Lake Sammamish is about 40 minutes outside of Seattle and definitely made our list of places we would consider living someday. Pros: friends, great schools, has a lake, has greenery, semi-affordable for the style housing we like. Cons: Seahawk territory! (Remember when I said bay area?! Yea- we are 49er fans!).

Despite all the Seahawk paraphernalia EVERYWHERE- we had a great time visiting the Seattle area. We spent every night with friends, which was the best part. You see, JZ grew up just 3.5 hours East of Seattle and moved to Seattle after graduating high school. Most of his closest friends are now in and around the Seattle area. We attended a group BBQ/pool party, a rooftop BBQ that had beautiful views of Seattle, a little Sunday Funday on Lake Washington, and just generally partied like rock stars with our friends and their kiddos! Little Monkey and I had a play date at the Aquarium. He and I also had a special day together exploring Seattle Center and the Science Center. I even got to leave Little Monkey with JZ one night and go take a dance class. I took a great hip-hop class atVelocity Dance Centerthat I would recommend to any adult dancers. It was fun enough for a pro like myself (toot toot- that’s my horn), and mellow enough for a beginner who just wants a fun workout.

Originally, we were scheduled to head out on Saturday for Lake Chelan, WA. Unfortunately the terrible fire situation in Washington State left the skies in that direction too smoky for Little Monkey- so we waited out the weekend in Samammish. Finally, Tuesday evening, we packed up the Subaru and risked the smoky airs of Lake Chelan.